Doha: The stage is set for Qatar 2020 FIFA Club World Cup starting Thursday.
Two Asian teams will take part in this year’s tournament: Ulsan Hyundai FC as AFC Champions League 2020 winners while Qatar champions Al Duhail SC represent the host country.
Ahead of the opening of the tournament between Tigres UANL and Ulsan Hyundai on Thursday, an-AFC.com commemorates five of the best Asian achievements in FIFA Club World Cup history.
Don’t forget to tell us which team made the most memorable performance in Asia in the FIFA Club World Cup in the account below.
Red Diamond Urawa (JPN) – 2007
In 2007, less than a month after beating Sepahan of the Islamic Republic of Iran in the AFC Champions League final, Urawa defeated the same opponents in the quarter-finals. FIFA Club World Cup final at Toyota Stadium.
The victory set the record in the semi-finals against European giants AC Milan.
Just a game away from a historic final, Urawa caught Milan to a goalless draw at half-time before falling to a Clarence Seedorf strike in the second half.
Despite that disappointment, the Reds went on to become the first Asian side to capture bronze at the FIFA Club World Cup after winning with a penalty over Etoile du Sahel in Tunisia in the third place play-off.
Washington Brazilian striker (pictured above) they filled a brace to finish as the top scorer of the competition with three goals.
Al Sadd SC (QAT) – 2011
After suspending five years of control of East Asian clubs in the AFC Champions League, Al Sadd of Qatar traveled to Japan for the 2011 FIFA Club World Cup looking to scale higher heights.
In their first game they succeeded in leading the African champions Esperance and advancing to the semi-finals with a 2-1 win.
This set the stage for a dream match with FC Barcelona at the Yokohama International Stadium, where the UEFA Champions League winners qualified with a convincing 4-0 victory.
Al Sadd were left with the ability to finish third if they got the upper hand over Asian side Kashiwa Reysol in the playoffs.
The Qatari side eventually entered the history books as the first West Asian side to finish third in the FIFA Club World Cup, with a 5-3 win over penalties over Kashiwa after standing unchallenged. goal in normal time.
Sanfrecce Hiroshima (JPN) – 2015
In 2015, the FIFA Club World Cup returned to Japan after a two-year presence and Sanfrecce Hiroshima were perhaps the ones who were happiest with that decision as they deserved it because of the J -Win league.
It was their second appearance in the competition after finishing fifth in 2012.
After seeing Oceania champions Auckland City 2-0 in their opening game, Sanfrecce put up an even better performance in the semi-finals as they stormed past DR Congo’s TP Mazembe with good 3-0 victory.
The semi-final with Copa Libertadores winners River Plate was a tough affair, as Sanfrecce kept the Argentine side at bay for most of the game before the victory was won 1-0.
Guangzhou Evergrande China PR was up next for Sanfrecce in an all-Asian meeting in third place play-off.
The Chinese side took an early lead, but two goals from Douglas saw the Japanese winners 2-1 and third.
Kashima Antlers (JPN) – 2016
After coming up with five third-place finishes over the 12 editions of the FIFA Club World Cup, Asia finally went to a higher level in the 2016 edition.
Kashima Antlers, J-League’s most successful side, made sure their ticket to a world event was not spent with a memorable run all the way to the finals.
Kashima’s campaign could have ended prematurely, after they ended up in their first game against Auckland City. However, they retained the desire to equalize before Mu Kanazaki put in an 88-minute winner.
With a 2-0 win over African champions Mamelodi Sundowns in the semi-finals Kashima advanced to a semi-final affair with Colombia’s Atletico Nacional.
Once again, Kashima recorded another impressive result, winning 3-0 and making history as the first Asian club to reach the final.
The biggest game of them all came at the very end – the FIFA Club World Cup final against Real Madrid.
Kashima impressed fans all over the world after the European champions drew a 2-2 draw in normal time, after leading 2-1 by court-back Gaku Shibasaki.
Cristiano Ronaldo eventually completed his hat-trick to give Real Madrid the title but that did not put the finishing touches on where Kashima had an impressive display throughout the tournament.
Al Ain (UAE) – 2018
Having qualified as a host country champion, Al Ain made the most of their opportunity to play against various continental club champions.
The UAE Pro League side advanced into the second round after an impressive 4-3 win over penalties against Wellington’s New Zealand team, with Al Ain coming down from 3-0 down to take the lead. mach.
That took them to another round in the second round with Espérance de Tunis from Tunisia and Al Ain turned on the style as they traveled to a 3-0 win to set a semi-final date with River Plate in Argentina.
Marcus Berg gave Al Ain a head start with his opening in the third minute but a quick fire brace by Rafael Borre saw the Argentinian side lead into the break.
Caio, however, pulled Al Ain’s level in the 51st minute to spark extra time, where there were no goals to come as the Emirati side went into their second penalty out of it. the competition.
With the support of home fans at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, gamer Khalid Eisa revealed the hero as he saved the fifth penalty at River Plate from Enzo Perez as Al Ain won the 5-4 shootout to set up a dream final the European champions Real Madrid.
It was not going to be a dream come true as Real Madrid were gaining power in a 4-1 win but, of course, Al Ain had captured the imagination of football fans all over the world with the quick run to the final.
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Photos: FIFA via Getty Images, AFP